>> hello and a very warm welcome to "european journal" coming to you from dw studios in brussels. here's a look at what we have for you today -- scotland, how an island is fighting for survival. poland -- is hosting exports events a good idea? and bulgaria -- why high-rises are the coolest spot in town. first up, let's look at the fight against islamists in mali. french troops are fighting alongside the malian army and

african soldiers from neighboring countries. the malian army will be trained by military experts from eu countries. the war is likely to go on for a long time, and as a precaution, french police are keeping a particularly close eye on the islamists seen in france. the security of what level there is that read, signifying threats from terrorists are probable. the malian community in paris is also coming under scrutiny. 100,000 malians live in france. most have come to work, and they live in residential homes. >> these women cook up the taste of home in their pots every day. this kitchen is not in bamako, however, but in a suburb of paris. and the television is turned on the whole day. the women's response is one of the light. around 600 malian then lived

here in the rundown workers' hospital. they sleep six to a room and are in regular contact with their home country. this man wants to know how things are going for the french in mali. it is a whole different world here in the hostel, and outsiders are not usually welcome, but everyone here disputes that it is a hotbed of islamic fanaticism. they earn some extra money by selling phone cards, food, or doing minor repairs. the barber has set up his mobile salon in the yard, which is the center of social life here. many earn money or they do deliveries. >> it is not a rebellion. islamist there are bandits.

drug traffickers. they are just ravel. then he no longer lives in a hostile but occasionally goes to meet friends. he has a small apartment with his family in the north of paris, and he enjoys a relatively good standard of life. he has been very concerned about the war in mali but is overjoyed now at the prospect of peace. >> there are no words to describe my feelings. mali has almost been liberated over the past few days. these are the best days of my life. >> in these turbulent times, he often leaves the comforts of family life to discuss hopes for the future of this country with his friends. his passion for soccer is shared by many of the exile community. no one seems to upset by their teams if the dickens to donna. 4,000 kilometers away, people are also taking a 90-minute time

out from the horrors of the war to watch the match in mali. islamists were driven out by french troops here about two weeks ago. paris, meanwhile, has been put in a state of alert in case of retaliatory attacks. there is a massive security presence with soldiers patrolling all over the city. mark has been a judge in major terrorism trials in paris over the last 13 years. he is one of the top experts on islamists cells, and he is under 24-hour police protection. >> most boys who are only just getting interested in jihad are not actually in danger. as long as they have not had any training at a terrorist camp or have not fought, you can still get them under control. we monitor them, put them under surveillance. i've got several such cases at the moment. they are treated like terrorists under the law in order to prevent them from becoming terrorists. >> last september, authorities

took a number of people into preventive custody, but the judge knows that claiming only bearded men in white robes are dangerous is a long of dated cliche. in his book, he refutes the widely held prejudices and explains how the new fighters are now recruited via the internet and social networking. dam it dangerous terrorists are becoming younger and younger. they come from various social backgrounds -- poor backgrounds or criminals but not exclusively. in these new terrorist groupings, there are people with normal day jobs, students, trainer-wearing intellectuals without beards. this dangerous ideology knows no boundaries. >> in another worker hostel in central paris, the malian club holds regular meetings. they say it would be impossible for islamists to recruit followers here.

>> you will not find an islamist here amongst others. he would not get out in one piece. he would get punched in the nose before the police even got to him. >> he has total confidence in fellow residents, but still, everyone here has become vigilant for signs of extreme as of in the malian community in paris. >> it is widely believed that new zealand has at least 10 sheet for each person. that is a world record an international comparison but only if you compare countries. on an island high up in northern scotland, the ratio is 10 times as high and growing. in today's edition of our series "small world" we take you to an island that was once right in the middle of the viking sea route. even today, there is still a

slight scandinavian touch, but there are fewer and fewer people who actually speak the dialect. it is losing its population, and the few people who remain want to attract new inhabitants, but that is not an easy task. >> there's a gale force wind blowing here, but that is not enough to deter a real-life housekeeper. >> i do not think it has ever been this bad in my lifetime before. >> the entire coast is constantly exposed to the elements, and most of the house's stand empty. the lighthouse keeper does not actually have to live on the island since the lighthouse is remotely controlled. still, he is not considering a move to the mainland.

>> it is just the freedom it gives you. the happiest moment of my life. it has been coming up here and hearing all the life -- the birds and the seals and the whole island coming to life. it is a magic moment, really. >> william is one of the last 60 inhabitants. he and his friend, the mayor, all doing all they can to attract new people to the island. they set up in milk process the 3000 wild sheep that feed off the seaweed on the beaches here. the mill is run by this englishmen who moved to the island. the aim is to promote the

island. >> it is really stretching that brand name to its limit. that is what you have to do. maybe it is not possible for it all to be hand-knitted. maybe it should be machine-and it, it can be made by the tens, by the hundreds. >> it is a business with the future and perhaps it will bring more inhabitants. there used to be 600 islanders here. they made a living fishing and farming, but life was harsh. many young islanders dreamt of a better future and left for the united states, australia, for canada. >> the island always had a high regard for education. basically, when you reach the age of 12, you were sent to be educated. it was a waste of your education if you did not go to college or university or whatever it might have been.

then, once you went to college or university, it was a waste of your degree or whatever qualification you had it if you did not put it to good use. >> he is considering inviting foreigners to the island. >> if you look at the population of india and china, there's an awful lot of people being born every day. there is room here. i think people will drift in this direction. the island is not prejudiced. in fact, i think they could not care less as long as people come in. that is what you need. >> his idea is simple -- anyone who does not want to work with sheep can collect seaweed instead. it is widely used in the cosmetics industry. he says the tourist industry could be expanded. the mayor has already brought one new family to the island, but they are scottish. both adults are employed by the local council. the mother works as a home care for the elderly while the father repairs to roads unloading

supplies from ships and also works as a fireman. the family rents one of two new houses recently built by the council. >> the house you live in previously was bigger than this one? this one was a chance of a detached house. we are quite happy with it. it suits us, actually. >> most people who are interested in living here would like to buy a property, preferably one of the old forms here. the problem is that no one is selling. >> when people -- the parents also and passed away, they took the land and did nothing with the house. >> at the local council meeting, the light has keeper and major have been trying to persuade others to sell this use forms to

newcomers -- sell disk used -- sell disused farms. >> when you get the wrong person coming in, that person causes a problem for the whole community. it is different. most people hold back in case they do something wrong for the whole community. >> graham sykes came to the island to serve but decided he wanted to stay and set up an art studio, but he understands the reactions of the owners. >> for me, i really like that defensiveness about their own heritage. i think this is in the world have been homogenized and heritage taken away, we're here, it is not really lost. i think it is a good thing, but

it is also quite annoying at the same time. >> for now, he has solved this problem by binging one of the old houses. >> it is time to make changes. no one likes changes, but sometimes you have to change. >> the light has keeper is proposing they only sell houses to newcomers who fit in, but how that is decided is unclear. if no one else comes to the island, the elements will stake their claim. with every storm, abandoned farms are being dismantled stone by stone. with each one, a piece of scotland's heritage is lost forever. >> americans have their super bowl. we in europe have our european soccer championships. every four years, the entire continent is in the firm grip of football fever when the country's best players fight for the euro cup. it is a good opportunity for host countries to boost their

image abroad, but the end of the tournament has often been a true reality check for the host. many greatly exceed their budgets when building glamorous stadiums or new roads for tourists. so what do you actually gain from hosting big sports events? poland is currently taking stock. half a year after it was the host of the euro as the tournament is also called. >> this is an excerpt from a video about last summer's european soccer championships, made by one of poland's best known commentators. his online entries have won him a cult following. >> we were the best, not the players. the team made an early exit, but all the other polls had a fantastic tournament. everybody plays -- praised the first class organization. >> the infrastructure investment for the tournament also had an added bonus for the country -- 1,000 kilometers of new motorways.

:'s sports minister came under fire before the tournament. opposition critics predicted a disaster, but the prime minister supported her. >> the euro has paid off for poland. a lot of new investments and everything went a lot faster than usual. a lot of emotion, lots of volunteers, and a great image for the country abroad. >> some 650,000 foreign visitors came to poland during the tournament. the euros are expected to attract an extra 500,000 tourists every year. it is good for business, but primarily for attracting young people to poland. but it is not all good news. the organizers do not seem to have planned beyond the tournament. one stadium after the next is facing serious debts. the pge arena, for example, has

a majestic facade, but behind- the-scenes, it is operating at a loss. >> the stadium is in the red to the tune of 1.2 million euros. >> the municipal stadium based financial collapse in november after running out of money. >> the operators had to call and ask the power company not to turn off the electricity when they could not pay the bill, and it is the same now. the stadium might run at a loss for 10 years. >> it is the same scenario here -- and in the stadium with minimal financial takings. rescue plans are called for. >> the stadium has to live. if it is dead, nothing can happen. we installed an ice rink inside the stadium. perhaps people will come here to skate even if they do not like soccer. >> over in the capital, there

have been fewer illusions. people here knew the stadium would be a major extravagance, so an unorthodox approach was required for its future. family might post a profit in 2015, but not before that. we have to host events 340 days a year -- otherwise we will not manage it -- so we need some wild ideas. right now, we are considering a ski jump events inside the stadium. we have to be open to new ideas. >> and there's no shortage of those in poland. the morning after the announcement, the plans went on line, and loggers were swift to picture ski jumpers mid-air over the stadium. some have cheekily suggested that i poland's bid for the winter olympics is successful, the ski jump will be at the national stadium. you just have to remove the corner flags. on a less light-hearted know,

there are still memories of the day when russian and polish fans fought street battles during the year rose -- euros. with a history of bad blood between the country, the history broke out before and after the sporting encounter on the pitch. the police made dozens of arrests. and they are still looking for the ringleaders behind the violence. the police insist their standoff tactics on june 12 were correct. >> we are very happy with the security. we were able to show that the police were up to this big challenge. we will get the missing culprits. our concept of care, tolerance, and the escalation works and encouraged us to carry on that way.

>> people who witnessed the violence might disagree, but this is the only trouble the entire tournament. otherwise it was a feast of football, one where the polls won plenty of compliments for their hospitality. the winners of the actual tournament were spain. this was complete with replicable set up specially for the high-profile guests. the tournament left its mark on the hotel. there are signs in spanish, photos, and the names of the players who slept in each room. >> we also have a big secret -- one of the players left us his shorts for good luck. i will not reveal which player. our guests all want to see

something different. them the secret letter, the training camps are top caliber and physically fully booked. the russian and cyprus soccer teams will be coming here soon. madrid already have a contract with their new team. with the excitement of the year rose long gone, the message is clear -- come back soon, may be for the 2020 euros were the poles hope to host at least two matches, or for the winter olympics in 2022. demo what do you do with buildings that were constructed for a specific purpose that no longer exists? many countries in eastern europe are faced with that question because of the megalomania of their former communist rulers. albanian still has hundreds of thousands of bunkers.

romania has a monstrous government palace. in bulgaria, entire cities of prefabricated high-rises are still a visible reminder. they were built to house factory workers, and when the factories closed after the collapse of the soviet union, many of these concrete slabs were quickly threatened with the case until the students came. >> they love and usual venues like this one in the southern district. welcome to a new party zone inp. 30,000 students live here. most of them in prefab high rises. there's no other place like this anywhere in the european union. they do not mind the socialist image attached to the concrete blocks.

it fits their needs perfectly. >> the great mixture of everything. the party places like discos, restaurants, cafes, and everything. i think that this gives a great opportunity for students to communicate with other people, to be in different situations. >> antoine is a member of the student union. he represents the interests of the students. the 60 housing blocks at the foot of the mountains date back to the socialist era. after the fall of communism, students turned this suburbs into one of the liveliest places in the balkan region. even though most of the buildings have not been renovated. like most of the students, and one shares a room. he is around 25 euros a month in

rent. with a scholarship of just 60 euros a month, he needs to work part time to make ends meet. >> if you were, if you study, if you go to university, you do not have much time to stay in the room, so it is not very room. >> antoine and his roommate are going out for a game of soccer, but most of their fellow students have different plans. they preferred a party after nightfall. many clubs have opened up in the district, and more are opening all the time. people from all over bulgaria flock here to party, especially young men. drinks are cheap, and there are lots of female students. the party and continues until well into the early morning hours, and drug or alcohol-

related incidents are on the rise. a short time ago, someone actually died. because the police cannot control the situation, there are now plans for a curfew. that would be a hard blow. not all the students come here to party. many work in the clubs and restaurants to pay for their studies. club owners give a more pragmatic reason for not imposing a curfew. >> if they really push through with this law that the clubs have to close at night, the students will simply party in their dorms. there will be chaos and things will get a lot worse. the idea is total nonsense. >> at the university, everyone is talking about the possible curfew. the students are planning to get up a petition. antoine is primarily concerned

with the image of the town. >> we know that we cannot only party, cannot only drink because what are we going to do? that is one of the things in the attitude of other people. they say this is a place where they only drink, party. that is not the reality. >> the students will fight for it. more than 20 years after the fall of communism, this former socialist model district is still vibrant and going strong, thanks to the student community. >> that report wraps up this edition of "european journal." thanks for watching. auf wiedersehen and bye for now!

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